Re: The Product of Experimentation
by Illusion911
Summary: It started with nightmares and a distorted voice. It led to an encounter with demons from the past. Sawada Tsunayoshi tries to escape their attention, but he can't. He has to face them, enter a deadly world, make new alliances along the way, and overcome his own alter ego. He hopes it doesn't end in bloodshed. (He knows it will.) Remake of The Product of Experimentation
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

_**It Happens at the Wrong Times**_

_You are not human._

_You are a monster. You have the talons of an eagle and the teeth of a shark. No remorse nor conscience exists within you._

_You are a demon. You have eyes that glow as bright as forest fires and a heart darker than black. It pumps tar through your veins._

_You are a puppet. You were built and shaped by others. The very ties that you wish to sever are the only ones keeping you alive and in motion._

_You are an assassin. You hide your weapons underneath a carefully created cloak of deception, killing precisely, unfeeling of the souls you take._

_You are a psycho. Your mind is absolutely broken._

_You are not human._

_**You are an experiment.**_

* * *

_SLAM!_

He jerks back in his seat, the source of the sound presented directly in front of him in the form of a rolled up lesson plan attached to an old man. The angry lines on the elder's face don't exactly help with the fact that he's a bit attractiveness impaired. Lips curl into a snarl.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi! Were you sleeping in class _again?!"_

The thirteen-year-old teen in question flinches at the shrill exclamation. He looks around and notices that everyone's eyes were on him, watching like it was some form of entertainment. It probably was. He fidgets a bit in his seat. There were _a lot_ of eyes on him. Despite this, he turns back to the teacher, apologetic look on his face.

_I can be human._

"S-Sorry sensei…" The apology sounds flat even to his ears, but it's the thought that counts, right? Though quite frankly, he _really_ didn't like sleeping in class; hopefully some of that got through to the teacher.

Apparently not to this ugly sir because he proceeds to give a disgusted huff and slams the lesson plan on the poor brunet's desk again. Maybe his caramel brown eyes weren't as innocent as he thought they looked? He was always told - not always in the most ideal circumstances - that he had a baby face, all adorable and innocent-looking. Guess it just didn't work during the times he needed it to.

"'_Sorry', 'sorry,' 'sorry' _does _not _make things any better for you! You say it again and again but you don't ever do anything about it! No wonder people call you _Dame-Tsuna. _You are pathetic! No-good!"

_Well you didn't have to say it so loud. My ears are fully functional y'know._

The teacher gives a final huff and spins around, going back to the front of the room, leaving the other students to jeer at the scolded teen. Someone even lobbed a paper wad in his direction, the crumpled ball getting stuck in the locks of his spiky, gravity-defying brown hair. He plucks it out and refrains from flicking it away in the event that the teacher would come back to rant at him for being a litterbug or something.

_Why does he even expect me to listen? _It's Math. Really, _really _basic Math that could be understood pretty easily if you just analyzed the statements and formulas. Numbers are static, definite, determinable. Boring, really, until they are given actual meaning or purpose.

Which is exactly what the teacher was _not_ doing.

Tsuna lets out a long sigh and glances outside the window because a blue sky with the occasional puff of white and the school grounds he's had to look at day after day after day were _far_ more interesting than trying to learn different mathematical formulas. He rolls his eyes.

Hours pass as easily as they would no matter where you'd look. It's just the same which ever way.

(Although this is much more preferable.)

And perhaps that is why people in such situations fall asleep. To escape to dreams. A more dynamic reality. Well really, it's just awfully boring to have to sit through so people fall asleep a lot, but Tsuna seriously wishes he could stop, even if the hours drag on longer.

Because a voice speaks to him in nightmares.

* * *

_How many lives have you taken?_

_How many lives can you take?_

_How many lives __**will **__you take?_

_What kind of rotten creature are you?_

_**You are not meant to live.**_

* * *

Tsuna jolts up in his seat.

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi! _Detention after school!"

Scratch that.

He absolutely _hated_ sleeping in class.

* * *

The chair makes a terribly loud squeaking noise as it drags across the floor. Tsuna winces at the sound that echoes through the empty classroom. He only meant to move it the slightest bit but _no_ he had to suffer the horrid sound of a scraping chair leg.

The teacher rubs at his ears a bit, scowling at his student. He frowns and motions for the young brunet to sit. Tsuna puts on what he hopes is an apologetic smile and sits himself down. The older man gives a huff, and directs his attention towards the papers on his desk.

An awkward silence hangs in the air, and Tsuna shifts awkwardly in his seat. A comfortable position was something his body _really _wanted, but not something he really felt was welcome at the time. He could feel his eyelids drooping down, his head getting heavy. Not that it was currently boring or anything, he just hasn't been getting a lot of sleep lately.

Despite the growing grogginess, he finds that things are coming into clarity. A speck of dust flies into his field of vision, and his eyes follow it easily. Beneath his fingertips the subtle grooves of the wooden table could be felt as plainly as he would a rock. It wasn't exactly a surprise that he managed to hear the scratching of pen on paper cease. He looks up at the teacher, who is looking right at him, actually showing a bit of concern in his eyes. Tsuna's head dips down again, shying away from his gaze.

"You know…"

The brunet jolts slightly in his seat. The scratching resumes. The teacher's eyes are on the papers.

"...you could sleep here if you want." His voice is soft and gentle, and actually sounds much nicer that way.

Tsuna raises a brow in confusion. "Sensei…?"

Eyes flick up, then back down again.

"I've looked over your test results. While you're not the best, you're actually doing fairly okay. Also, these bouts of sleep are rather recent." The pen halts. He looks back up.

"Sleeping problems?"

Tsuna wipes at his eyes.

* * *

_You're __**different.**_

* * *

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well, that's understandable. I've had a lot of those back then." Okay so Ugly-sensei is actually a pretty good guy. Nice to know. "Still have them now. Kinda explains my short-temperedness, I guess." He gives a small huff, and shuffles the papers in front of him and puts them to the side. "Do you have the same nightmares when you sleep in class?"

The brunet is slightly nonplussed by the serenity in his voice, and pauses.

_To have a conversation, or to not have a conversation? Eugh, _interaction. _Ah, screw it, I need to stay awake _somehow. _But… _He rubs at his eyes, trying to wipe the sleepiness out of them. _Do I have the same nightmares…?_

"I can't remember any of them," he finally says, the response almost a murmur. The Math teacher raises a brow, and interlocks his own fingers on the desk as he leans forward slightly.

"Nothing?"

_Screaming. A voice._

"No, not really." He flinches. That sounded too quickly delivered.

The elder looks troubled by this. "For how long have you been having nightmares?"

Tsuna thinks back to the first one.

* * *

_Tsuna sits up in bed abruptly, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. His ears ring, and he panics as his vision refuses to clear out from the darkness. His hands clench, and he feels cotton sheets bundle up in his hand. It takes a moment for him to realize that he had just had a nightmare. He turns to his clock._

_1: 39 AM_

_He runs a hand through his hair, trying to catch his breath. What he just had a nightmare about, he wasn't sure. However, one thing was definite._

_He was running._

* * *

"... since last month. First week."

"And you've been having these terrors ever since?"

"Constantly."

The teacher leans back in his chair. "That must be terrible, huh. Being kept awake by something you don't know."

The reply is quiet. "You have no idea…"

The older man scratches at his head, and hums thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not quite sure if it will work for you, but try to influence the dream while falling asleep. Think about how you'd want it to go," he says after a minute. "I've been trying it recently, and it helps, provided you don't pass out immediately after hitting the bed." He gives a huff under his breath, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

The brunet files that bit of info into 'Things I Should Try That Probably Don't Work So Don't Get Your Hopes Up.' He nods politely. "I'll try."

The elder smiles. "Hopefully, it'll work for you. Sleep is very important for teens your age." He tidies up his pile of papers.

"You can go now."

Tsuna rubs at his ears. Did he just hear that right? Nah, he was probably just _really _sleepy and hallucinating again. There was this one time where he was so sleepy he thought Captain America was in the room asking for help so he agreed to joining the Avengers…

"...Did you hear me Sawada-san?"

"Actually I think I misheard you sensei…" The brunet rubs at his ear lobes. "I thought you said I could go…"

"I did."

Tsuna is actually surprised at that. And… a little grateful he supposes. He stands up, and offers his teacher a soft smile, which actually manages to surprise the teacher a bit.

(He doesn't smile a lot. He never really has a reason to.)

"Thank you, sensei." He doesn't say it, but he is grateful for the talk as well.

The old teacher smiles, and his features soften a bit.

"You're welcome."

It's the little things that Tsuna lives for.

* * *

_He doesn't look forward to them._

_It means that something bad is coming his way._

_Bad luck always seems to come his way, no matter what._

_Whenever something good happens to him, there's always something that makes his day worse._

_**It's like you're cursed.**_

* * *

"Gh!" He crumples to the floor and wipes at his mouth. His hands come away stained red.

"Heh, looks like I hit you too hard, eh?" The thug towers over Tsuna's body, and before the young teen can recover, he delivers a sharp kick to his stomach. The brunet gives another grunt of pain, and rolls to his side. His hand reaches out trying to grasp something, anything, that could be used to defend himself. Fingers brush against cold metal, and he brings it up in front of his face. Just in time, he learns, as a solid thud reverberates through the alleyway, the sound of a fist colliding against a rusted metal bar.

The brute pulls his hand back yelping, and cradles his sore knuckles in his other hand. He growls a bit as he backs off. The alleyway seems to get darker, and just now does Tsuna realize that the other members of his little gang are closing in on him.

All at once, a barrage of punches and kicks are thrown at him. The brunet tries desperately to block as many of them as possible, but the weakened metal gives way, and soon all he has left in his hand is a short pipe, no longer than a foot, with a rugged tip where it broke off from the other section. He continues to try and hold them back, but with a stub of a pipe for protection, he can't do much. Eventually, his back hits the wall. Tsuna looks up and he's totally surrounded. A myriad of insults and taunts reach his ears.

"Look at that! Dame-Tsuna is tired already?"

"Damn, and here I thought he could take more than this..."

"He really is pathetic…"

(But he's long since been used to it. Used to the fact that his bad luck will get him in the worst situations. He's grown tired of that old routine. But he powers through it. Smiling gets him nowhere. He doesn't do that that much. Being nice just makes things worse. So he doesn't do that either. He doesn't react. He _won't _react. He'll stay quiet. Let them think what they want to think.)

(Let them remain blind.)

They continue to mock.

"_Dame-Tsuna."_

"What a curse."

"You are _so_ weak. A real twerp."

"Well guys, how should we finish him, then?"

* * *

"_How should we finish him then?"_

* * *

It's an instant. A second. A blink of an eye. The mere act of nodding the head was enough time. Tsuna's sight starts to adjust. Everything comes in focus.

Crumples bodies. Open wounds. Fatal wounds. Throat, chest, stomach, neck. No sounds. Just breathing. Rapid breathing. Only one. Only one person breathing. Only one person standing up. Only one. Tsuna looked down at his hands. The rusted pipe. Jagged end. He screamed.

The alleyway ran red.

* * *

Tsuna jolts up in bed, a scream in his throat, a cry that never quite moves past his lips. His chest heaves up and down as his breath comes out in stutters. Immediately eyes dart down towards his hands.

Clean.

Blood.

Clean.

Blood.

The brunet rubs at his eyes and takes a fortifying breath. He looks again.

Clean.

He blinks.

Still clean.

Tsuna breathes a sigh and leans back. He feels the cotton sheets under his hands. The room is quite dark, but he immediately knows that he is at home. He runs his hands through his hair.

Breathe.

He buries his face in his hands. _At home. Okay. So recap. Teacher dismissed me early. Went directly home. Went directly home. Went directly home. No incident whatsoever. Right. Right. Right. Right? Right. Right?_

He scrambles out of bed and heads for the bathroom. The lights flick on and eyes skip over to the mirror over the sink. They roam over, searching his face for fresh, or faded bruises. He checks his arms, his hands, his body. Nothing. He then looks over the sink.

_No marks._

_No blood._

Once again, he breathes a sigh. Hands grip onto the sides of the sink, and he leans forward. His head dips down, and he gives a little huff.

The encounter with those thugs didn't happen.

He didn't wash their blood off of his hands.

Nothing happened.

_**Ah, but something did, didn't it?**_

Tsuna looks up into the mirror.

Orange eyes stare back into his.

* * *

_Ciao. How is all_

_Sorry for the slow updating, but school just ended recently, thank the gods, and I've recently decided to rewrite the entirety of TPoE. Most likely, the old one will be abandoned, or I will update the chapters to be the same as the ones here. Anyway, this is a little test/teaser thing to see if it's alright. It's been a really long time since I've written anything for this site, so I hope that my recent improvements in writing are up to scrap!_

_ALSO BIG THANKS FOR MORE THAN 200 FOLLOWERS AND LIKE 199 FAVORITES ON THE ORIGINAL **THE PRODUCT OF EXPERIMENTATION **AS I AM TYPING THIS OUT. REALLY SURPRISED THAT I'M ENTERTAINING PEOPLE EVEN ON A YEAR-LONG HIATUS. HUGE THANKS. GRAZIE._

_AND A HUGE **THANK YOU **TO **Nina-Chan 202 **FOR _ACTUALLY _MAKING FANART FOR TPOE. It should be her current profile pic, and I am just SUPER FLATTERED LIKE WOW SOMEONE MADE A THING BASED ON MY THING LIKE THAT IS AMAZING. If any of you make something for my fanfics, PLEASE send me a link a pic or whatever I don't care how terrible you think it looks just show me bec it's just wow why would you make something for my ff that is wow_

_Anyway, that's all I can think to say right now, for anything else, try checking out my profile, or just PM me. idk_

_As always, thanks for reading, favouriting, following, reviewing, whatever the heck you do rlly you are wonderful people go ahead and applaud for yourselves because you are amazing people like really I will climb through this screen if I have to and hug you to convince you like wow you people are wow_

_Until next time, arrivaderci~_


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

_**It's All a Matter of Time**_

Caramel brown eyes meet the eyes of his reflection.

They shone bright like flames, pulsating as they glowed, almost as if they were embers in a fireplace.

Tsuna takes a step back. His reflection remains in place, orange eyes staring right at him. The image in the mirror… it was him. From his messy brown hair, to body structure, to the plain pajamas he was currently wearing.

The only thing that differed was the pair of orange eyes.

Tsuna blinks several times. Unlike the blood, this image remains. He runs his hands through his hair, and takes a few steps back to lean against the bathroom wall.

_I'm... still dreaming…?_

_**No, not really.**_

The voice is deep - deeper than his own at least - and echoes within Tsuna's mind. Eyes widen, and lips move forming words that just don't materialize. The reflection's mouth remains still. Tsuna closes his mouth. He doesn't think he can trust it to come up with the right things to say. Somehow he knows he doesn't really have to speak.

_I must be dreaming. This can't-_

_**Well you're not.**_

Tsuna runs a hand through his hair again, the reflection not doing what it's supposed to do: mirror the action. The brunet, intrigued by this, waves a hand. The reflection does not mimic the action, nor move in any other way. The only thing about the reflection that seems to show any sort of movement would be the glow of its eyes; it's steady pulsing unnerves Tsuna.

_You… do not move? _Mentally, Tsuna smacks himself. A thousand questions on his mind, but he feels that that one question must be answered first. There is a hint of amusement in the image's orange eyes. Tsuna feels as though the reflection would have had the corner of its mouth quirk up.

_**No, not really. **_The image seems to consider something, despite the fact that it has not moved at all, or changed appearance in any way. _**I… lack an actual form.**_

_An _actual _form…? _The brunet steps closer to the mirror, wary at the inhuman eyes watching him. _What do you mean?_

_**Well... **_The reflection closes its eyes, and Tsuna is surprised at the action. It was the first real movement that it made. _**...this is because I exist only within your mind.**_

_What? _Quite frankly, Tsuna had no idea what time it was right now. He didn't think it would matter until now, because he was pretty sure he'd be up for the next few hours after this and he _really _didn't want to fall asleep in class again. He feels his breath becoming carefully controlled. He doesn't speak, but he mouths it out.

_Who are you?_

The image opens its eyes.

_**I am you.**_

* * *

"_Oi!"_

Tsuna jolts up in his seat, breathing heavily. Eyes dart around to find eyes all on him.

* * *

_They examined him with fascination, the kind one would hold for a new specimen._

_They had found something else to test on, one that would indeed bring up promising results._

* * *

He calms down when he realizes that they were his classmates.

_But _then he realizes that he was sleeping in class again.

Tsuna briefly attempts to recall his nightmare, but it fades from his mind easily. He instead decides to assess his current situation. It was a different class, so the teacher wasn't the same one who put him in detention the previous day. He guesses that that's why she doesn't seem to be as irritated (different teacher, different temperament and all) but she also seems… concerned? Tsuna decides to word out an apology nonetheless.

"S… Sorry sensei…" The apology is weak, whatever it was that happened in his nightmare still taking a toll on him. Instead of lashing out or telling him not to do it again, the teacher approaches him cautiously. Upon closer inspection… yep, that was definitely concern written on her face.

"Sawada-san… are you alright?" the teacher asks.

Tsuna raises a brow at this, unsure of what to think.

"Sensei…?"

"You were murmuring in your sleep," a student nearby provided. She rubs her thumb along the side of her pen, looking thoughtful. "You sounded… scared."

_Scared? _Tsuna rubs at his eyes. _Well it _was _a nightmare…_

"Sawada-"

"It was just a nightmare, sensei," Tsuna says abruptly, adding in 'sensei' as a quick afterthought.

The teacher looks skeptical, before heaving a sigh and cleaning her glasses. "Well… if you say so." She faces the rest of the class, who up until now had been leaning closer in interest, and immediately her face hardens; it takes just one look for the class to know that the show was over, and that they were to continue as usual. Tsuna sighs, and leans back in his chair. He _knew _it was a bad idea to stay up that late.

But then again, when your reflection starts talking to you, it _would_ be hard to get some decent rest.

Tsuna reflects on the encounter.

_And _no _that wasn't a pun, dammit._

* * *

**I am you.**

_Tsuna stills, and while he knows that the search would merit no findings, his eyes scan his - his _reflection's _\- face for any faults._

What do you mean?

**I mean that I am you. And yet, at the same time, I am not.**

_The brunet furrows his brow. That wasn't exactly helpful. In his mind, the voice huffs in amusement._

**I suppose not. **_It hums for a few beats. _**Call me… Decimo.**

Decimo? _That sounded familiar to the brown-eyed brunet. That was… Italian?_

**It is Italian for 'Tenth,' yes.**

Decimo… alright then. _He would ponder on that choice of name later._ So, are you my split personality or something?

**Yes, something like that.**

Your only existence is within my head… And you don't seem to move because…? _Tsuna wasn't sure if wanted to get the answer to that but hey, his alternate personality was talking to him. Might as well._

_Decimo closes his (his? Yeah, definitely male) eyes, and somehow, Tsuna feels that it is piecing together the right words to convey (not _say_, no; it wasn't exactly a verbal conversation)._

**I think that has to do with you.**

Me?

**Yeah. Originally, I had thought that it was myself. I had been trying to talk to you properly for some time now, but it was difficult to even get beyond a simple desire of proper cognition. I eventually learned that it is your own doing of suppressing me. While I am still able to think properly for myself, these abilities were slow to come, and this would be due to your interference.**

_There's a sensation of something pointing at him, and Tsuna guesses that Decimo is pointing at his head. His brain _in _his head, to be exact. If Tsuna could use an emoticon right now, it would probably be the one with the slanted mouth that gives a vibe of indecisiveness. (:/)(:\\)_

I don't feel like I'm interfering with anything up in here. I didn't even know you existed.

**That is because whenever I try to communicate with you, I can never stay long. I am still too weak.**

**Even now, I cannot remain.**

_For a terrifying moment, there is only silence. Tsuna blinks, and once more it's his reflection. He waves his hand in front of it, and it responds accordingly. It's appearance is totally normal, and it's eyes are no longer glowing orange. The brunet leans forward, towards the mirror, looking deeply into his own eyes, into his reflection's eyes._

_Orange-gold flecks dance in his irises._

**You know me.**

**You do not remember**

**but we speak to each other whenever you do.**

**Unfortunately, my words do not escape the realm of slumber.**

**So now, I reveal myself to you while you are awake.**

_The reflection moves closer to the brunet's face, fiery eyes staring into his own. Tsuna is unsure if the image is moving of its own accord, or his body is._

**I tire of speaking to you in nightmares.**

* * *

_After that… _Tsuna sighs, and cracks his neck as he continues on his walk home.

_...after _that _he decides not to talk to me again. _He looks up at the sky.

_No nightmares either._

His lips form into a pout. _Hella late when it finished, though. Barely an hour left of sleep. _He gives a tired yawn, as though his body wanted to emphasize that point.

_At least I didn't sleep in class that much. _He reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose. _Less awkward-waking-up-in-the-middle-of-class, I guess._

Tsuna rounds a corner, accidentally bumping into someone. He immediately spins towards the person, hands up in front of him.

"S-Sorry!" Hot damn, the world must be after him. If there's one thing he _really _didn't like, aside from nightmares and bullies and such, it would probably be awkward bump-ins. He was a rather anxious boy, and it didn't exactly help that he was socially-impaired. He looks down, and notices that some of the stranger's belongings had fallen to the floor. Immediately, he crouches down and starts to pick the items up off the floor. "I'm really sorry-" he takes a quick look up at the stranger, who has also started gathering his things, "-sir."

"Ah, no it's alright. It was just an accident, no problem." The way he speaks Japanese is peculiar, the pronunciation not quite right. Tsuna sneaks another peek at the man, and is greeted with the sight of blond hair.

_A foreigner, I guess._

The brunet looks back down, and picks up a box before handing over the armful of items to the man. The man flashes back a smile.

"Thanks, and again, it's nothing to worry about." He seems to suddenly notice Tsuna's smaller stature (the poor child was still be gain a decent height), and his attire, which spurred a small 'ah' from the blond.

"So you're a student, huh?"

Brown eyebrows furrow. "Yes. Um-"

The blond interrupts, sparing Tsuna the embarrassment of an awkward inquiry. "Well, y'see, I a friend of mine works as a tutor," he says as he fishes around the clutter in his arms. At last he hands the brunet a white envelope, 'home tutor' printed cleanly onto its back.

"You should try hiring him. While his methods may be considered a little…" The blond looks off into the distance, and cringes. "...harsh, they eventually prove to be rather effective."

Tsuna turns the letter over in his hands, before pocketing it. "I'll think about it." Actually, his mind was already set on not calling for a tutor. His grades were fine as they were, though a little under-average for a few subjects.

The stranger smiles. "Well, I best be going then." He waves a goodbye, and heads off on his own.

The brunet goes the other way, hoping that he still had a little more time left.

* * *

The bluish-gray walls had grown so familiar to the brunet that he could identify the exact same shade they were from a collection of color swatches. The curtains changed every now and then, and Tsuna's been around long enough to know that they had 10 different sets for the entire building. Taking a breath before opening the door had become a habit. However, if there was one thing he couldn't get used to, it was the sight that greeted him in that room. He smiles.

"Hi mom."

From the bed, under a large, sky blue blanket and hooked up to several machines, a woman smiled. Her face held no wrinkles or creases, any and all signs of weariness disappearing in an instant.

"Hi, Tsu-kun."

Tsuna closes the door behind him, and makes his way over to his mother's bedside. His bag goes in the usual corner of the room, and the plastic chair is dragged off from the side, as is the norm. Hand-holding is a ritual that is always observed.

Sawada Nana turns her head towards her child, the smile never faltering from her lips. She had always been a cheerful woman, in spite of whatever hardships she had to face, and she always shows that. It's a sort of aura she has, always radiating kindness and joy. It's even in her eyes, the eyes that bear the very same shade as those of her son.

"How was school?" Her voice is pleasant to hear, a song that could charm the dead. Even when weakened, it's still something that never ceases to soothe Tsuna's soul.

"Alright," was the reply.

This time, her lips formed into a pout. "Now, you didn't get into trouble, did you? You took a while coming here, Tsu-kun, don't think I don't notice these things."

Such a thought had never crossed his mind. Nana was deceptively observant, a fact that Tsuna was exclusively privy to. As an answer, he shakes his head.

"No, nothing like that." His mouth presses into a thin line, and the brunet looks off to the side. "I just bumped into someone."

"Ah, is that so?" Her lips go back into their natural curve. "That's good to hear." She brings her hand up to brush it against Tsuna's cheek. He brings up his other hand, and holds his mother's close to his face. "I'm always so worried about you, Tsu-kun. I can't do much from here, but I always pray for you."

"I know."

He never forgets it.

* * *

When Tsuna gets back, the sky had already grown dark.

He looks to the kitchen for a brief moment, and decides that it's too late to make proper food and goes for instant ramen. It doesn't take long to make, and soon enough he has a hot cup in one hand and his pants in the other. The pants are tossed to the side, and the cup of ramen placed down onto the table in the middle of his room. Changing is a process that never takes long, and soon he's on his chair, slurping up the noodles in fervor.

_It's been so long since I've had noodles, I just might start quoting Shakespeare about it! … not like I've read Shakespeare before. Who has time to read those books anyway? I hear they're difficult to understand, even to English-speakers…_

Before he could go on a full mental rant about how complicated language was, he spotted something on the floor. Reluctantly leaving behind the remaining noodles, he goes over to pick it up.

_Ah, right. The envelope that guy gave me. _He turns over the letter in his hand, and opens it, taking out the document inside to read.

* * *

"_Ah, Tsu-kun, what's that?"_

"_Hm?" He looks down to where his mother was pointing, right at his pocket. "Oh, this?" He pulls out the envelope by the end sticking out, and shows it to Nana, absently straightening out the creases it had developed while in his pocket. "It's just a letter recommending a home tutor or something. The guy I bumped into gave it to me."_

"_Is that so?" She takes the letter from him, and reads it silently. Unfortunately, from his angle, Tsuna can't read anything and so is left in the dark. She folds it up, and puts it back into the envelope, and gently places it into her son's hands._

"_I think you should try getting this tutor."_

_The younger brunet's lips curl into a frown. "We need all the money we can get to keep you healthy-"_

_Nana lifts her hand, and Tsuna immediately stops talking. She gives her son a close-eyed smile._

"_Money isn't the problem here. What I want is for you to grow up to be a kind, intelligent person, who will help everyone in need."_

_Tsuna looks down at his hands, which Nana held in hers._

"_I'm trying."_

"_I know."_

* * *

_XXX XXX XXX_

Nine digits was all that the paper held.

_That, _and a singular word.

_ N_

* * *

_Hi._

_I had this chapter ready for over a week._

_Ahah._

_Anyway, time in between chapters will probably be long, as I am still fighting to get my muse back properly, and due to the fact that I'd like to publish as many as possible at once._

_Big thanks to my good friend for being my beta, and it seems his penname changed, so thanks to __**Lube Kouhai **__and bloody hell man._

_As usual, thanks for taking the time to read this, following, favoriting, or whatever. I encourage leaving behind reviews because it's a real motivator for me._

_Once again, thanks, and until next time_

_Have a good one_


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